There are primarily three techniques for forming rounded corners on planar members such as countertops and boards. The first method is a free-hand method in which an artisan or a carpenter marks the desired shape on the member, such as with a pencil, and cuts along the mark to form the desired corner shape. Even the most skilled carpenters may not be able to form the desired corner shape with consistency using the free-hand method. The marked line may not accurately represent the desired corner shape. Or, the carpenter may inadvertently move the cutting tool off the marked line, resulting in a rough curve. This free-hand method can also be very time consuming.
The second method involves using a cutting guide or template to form a rounded curve or other corner shape. Instead of following a line that the carpenter previously marked on a board, the template is placed on top of the board to be cut and the cutting device, such as a saw, is inserted into the template. The template provides a predefined shape for cutting. Manually aligning and positioning the template to achieve the desired rounded corner can be very time consuming. Moreover, movement, even very slight, between the template and the member to be cut causes inaccuracies in the resulting shape of the final cut corner.
Another method of forming rounded corners involves using a cutting device mounted to a radial arm, in which the radial arm pivots about a fixed point. Depending upon the placement of the cutting device on the arm, the radius of the rounded corner may be lengthened or shortened. Large radius arms may be easy to set up, however large radius arms are limited to forming only large rounded shapes. In order to form corners or shapes with smaller radii, a smaller arm must be used. Using smaller armed assemblies may require an assembly to be mounted to the board each time a different corner of the board needs to be rounded or otherwise shaped. The mounting and dismounting of the assembly every time a rounded corner is to be cut, can be very time consuming.
To overcome these and other limitations associated with prior art techniques and devices, a need exists for an apparatus and related process that can quickly, accurately and consistently cut or otherwise form rounded corners in planar members.